The Movies, The Madman and Me - Part One
by Mirabella Santina
Summary: Six cousins - Jane, Carla, Lucia, Dee, Skylar and Marie - discover that they must spend the night in a creepy old mansion in order to inherit their uncle's estate. Fortunately, they have help - Ben Affleck, Lance Bass, Jeff Timmons, Paul Walker, Joey Fato


chapter one (JANE) IT WAS A SATURDAY MORNING. The sun woke me, pouring into my windows in a manner that struck me as being distinctly obnoxious. Then I remembered the party we'd had the night before and, considering the state of my head, I was glad I didn't have to be anywhere. I would have gone back to sleep, but my husband is a loud snorer. It took me a minute to realize he wasn't right next to me, but I followed the noise until I found him on the floor of our bedroom, tangled up in the sheets and part of the cord from the lamp on the nightstand. I remembered that he'd been a very good boy and had had way less to drink than I had, so I decided to do the nice thing and leave him there for the time being. I wandered out into the wreckage that used to be our living room on my way to the kitchen to make some coffee. It took me a while to find the coffeemaker underneath the leftover streamers and empty champagne bottles but after a few moments the blessed scent of hot, liquid caffeine brewing began to fill the apartment. I tied back the curtains in the living room, opened the windows, and let the fresh air in as I started cleaning up the remains of the previous evening. I don't know what made me want to throw an engagement party in the first place, considering how much I'm NOT the hostess type. Maybe it was the initial excitement I experienced when my cousin Skylar and her then-boyfriend, now-fiance Lance informed us that they were getting married. Or maybe it was the several margaritas we enjoyed after the exciting announcement, who knows. Anyway, somewhere in there I volunteered to give my first - and probably last - engagement party. Between my friends and family and my husband Ben's friends, we'd celebrated enough for several engagements. Ben woke up around the same time the coffee maker buzzed to let me know the coffee was ready. I heard a thump, a crash, and a "What the hell" coming from the bedroom. I went in and found him trying to figure out how he'd somehow ended up behind the nightstand. After I helped him out of the sheets he mumbled something and bumped his way into the bathroom. I went back into the living room and discovered that at least one of our guests had never actually left the party. Ben wandered into the living room just as his friend Josh began digging his way out of a heap of confetti and paper plates on the couch. Josh sat up and wiped some cake icing off his face with a bewildered look as Ben stood over him, yawning. "Jane, are you cheating on me?" Ben finally asked. "Or is this the son we had that you never told me about?" "I'm cheating on you," I told him. "No, actually Josh just stuck around last night to help finish the cake. See?" I reached over and picked a piece of it out of his hair. "Why am I in my underwear?" Josh asked. "You said you couldn't sleep in your clothes," I answered as Ben ambled into the kitchen. "Where are my clothes?" I glanced around the room; most of the furniture was buried under party debris. There were no clothes of any kind in sight. "I have no idea. Come have some coffee and we'll look for them. They must be here someplace." "I wonder what - or who - else we'll find," Ben called to us from the kitchen. While we were having our coffee, the phone rang. After hunting around for a while, Josh finally found it, buried under a "Congratulations, Lance and Skylar" sign. "Hi, it's me, who are you?" I answered it. "It's me," I heard my cousin Marie's voice. I couldn't remember seeing her the night before, although I distinctly remembered inviting her. "Girl, where were you last night? Did you forget about Skylar's engagement party?" I scolded her. "There were hot, single men crawling all over the place, Miss 'Why-Can't-I-Meet-a-Nice-Cute- Guy'." "I came late and I said hello to you, but I had to leave early. Don't you remember?" I thought for a moment. "What time did you come?" "Around 9:30." "I'd had a lot of champagne by then." "That explains why you were sitting on Ben's lap, telling the story of how you both met and raving about how romantic he was." "I did that? That's so unlike me." I looked at Ben and made a face. "Do you remember me sitting in your lap and sobbing about how romantic you are?" "No, but I do remember Matt and Casey doing a Britney Spears duet on the fire escape." Ben grinned at me, swallowed the last of his coffee, and hauled a still-confused Josh into the living room after him. "I myself remember Dee and Joey loudly proclaiming their undying love for each other. Also for chocolate. And at one point, my curtains," I said, some of the party coming back to me. "Well, anyway. Now that I have some privacy -" I glanced into the living room to be sure the guys couldn't hear me - "Can you come over now? You can help me clean up and meet Ben's friend Josh. He's such a hottie - well, once we get him showered and dressed and get the cake out of his hair, he will be." "Maybe. I'm sorry I had to leave so quickly last night. I didn't get a chance to talk to anyone but Skylar, and that was only for a few minutes. Plus, I spotted a real cutie standing by the punch bowl but I just couldn't get up the nerve to go talk to him." "Marie, that is the story of your life. You and I must sit down and chat sometime about you learning to be more aggressive in life. In the meantime, what's up?" "Oh, that's right, I did call for a reason, didn't I? Well, are you sitting down?" I took a platter of half-eaten chips and dip off one of the kitchen chairs and sat. When one of my cousins asks if I'm sitting down before they tell me something, I know enough to sit. "Okay, I'm ready. What happened? Who did what to whom and when?" "Nobody did anything to anyone. But Great Uncle Marlon, at the age of 104, finally passed on to wherever it is that Great Uncles go when they die." "You're kidding! I'm shocked." "I know. He was still in good health, in spite of the age." "No, I mean, I had no idea we had a Great Uncle Marlon. That's amazing. So what do we have to do, arrange the funeral, or something?" Marie groaned. "Right to the point, just like you always are. No, the funeral's been arranged already, just the way he wanted it. Actually, I'm calling because last night I found a message on my machine from Great Uncle Marlon's lawyer. He said that the funeral is tomorrow, and the reading of the will follows immediately afterward. He also said that you and I plus Skylar, Carla, Lucia and Dee all need to be present because we're all mentioned in the will. He said he tried to call you last night but --" "If the phone rang nobody heard it," I finished for her. "Well, that's all right. I guess we'll have to pull ourselves together and go. But in the meantime are you sure you don't want to drop by this afternoon?" Marie sighed and I could almost see her smiling. "I can't. Wish I could. I'm picking up Lucia and her new boyfriend Paul at the airport. I hear he's a gorgeous blonde surfer, and they met on the beach at dawn three months ago. Lucy wouldn't stop raving about him over the phone. Speaking of wishes, I wish I'd gotten that cute guy's name! But anyway, I really have to study for an exam. I'm finally getting certified!" I let out a whoop of glee. "My cousin, the hot-body personal trainer. I'm so proud! We should open a gym together - " I was interrupted by Ben, who came back into the kitchen holding a sparkly high-heeled shoe. "Is this yours?" he asked me. "No, and it's definitely not yours. Where'd you find it?" "In the bathroom sink. Who's on the phone?" "Cousin Marie." "HI, MARIE!" Ben bellowed. "HI, BEN!" Marie shouted back, right into my ear. "Yeah, she says hi, and thanks for yelling, babe," I mock- scolded my husband. "Maybe that's Josh's shoe." "Hey, Josh, I found your shoe, buddy," he wandered back into the living room, waving the tacky thing in the air. I gave a sigh of resignation. "I've got to go and try to salvage my apartment. I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Marie gave me the directions to the funeral home and then we hung up and I went back into the living room to try and save what was left of our home - and find Josh's clothes.****************** chapter two (Marie) I hung up the phone and sat on the couch in my studio apartment, looking at the picture I held in my hand. It was a snapshot of six little girls - me and my five cousins when we were all about 8 or 9 years old. Jane - always the tomboy - wore a ear-to-ear grin, a dirty shirt and her knees were scraped. She had had long red braids back then instead of the attractive pixie cut she wore now. Carla's light brown hair was still as long as it had been when she was a little girl. Lucia had dark, curly hair that we had all envied. Then there was Dee, happy-go-lucky Dee, with her short, fluffy, blonde hair and a big smile on her face. Next to Dee there was Skylar, with her arm around Dee and a big red bow in her long brown hair. And then, finally, there was me, Marie, with my short, light hair, neither blonde nor brown, and my serious expression. We'd played together and gone to school together until junior high, when we'd gone to different schools and made different friends. Still, we'd always stayed close. Dee was closer to Skylar, since they'd stayed in the same neighborhood. Jane and I were more like sisters than cousins, since Jane had come to live with my family after losing her parents in a plane crash. Even after we were grown and living in the city, we'd been roommates, until one day Ben had come into our lives and he and Jane had fallen in love and gotten married. I had already spoken to Skylar, Carla, Lucia and Dee about the funeral. It seemed none of them remembered Great Uncle Marlon very clearly, although Skylar thought she could almost picture an elderly, heavyset man with a mustache and a funny accent who used to give all of us candy when he visited. I stood up with a sigh and went to get ready for a run. I was still sorry about having had to miss most of my cousin's engagement party, but I knew my hard work would pay off in the long run. As I popped my favorite Depeche Mode CD into my portable CD player, I thought again about that gorgeous guy I'd noticed last night, and those dark, dark eyes he had that were noticeable even across a crowded room ... and I was smiling as I took off down my block, even while I was regretting my own lack of courage.*************** chapter three (Marie) The funeral was over. We were all crowded around the table of a diner not far from the funeral home. Nobody was speaking; each of us was still dazed by the instructions contained in Great Uncle Marlon's will. It was Ben who spoke first. "Well, not to run down your relatives, babe," he said to Jane, "but frankly I think your Uncle Marlon was missing a few hens from the coop." "A few!" Lucia blurted out. "I never heard of anything so bizarre before. Uncle Marlon watched too many Vincent Price movies, that's what I think." "What do you think we should do about it?" Skylar asked. "Let's see - crazy great uncle states in his will that, in order to inherit his estate, his surviving relatives have to spend a night in his mansion. Sounds harmless enough at first - but a catch states that during the course of the evening we'll be playing some kind of mystery game, during which time anything can and will happen." Carla restated what Great Uncle Marlon's lawyer, Mr. Pinley, had read from the will. "The guy wasn't playing with a full deck. What's the point of sticking around?" "The challenge," Jane told her. "That sounds like a challenge to me and I like a challenge." "It does sound as though he were daring us to do it," I said slowly. "But what could possibly happen? Is the place booby- trapped or what?" "Did Uncle Marlon think we were greedy enough to do anything for money?" Dee piped up. "We barely even knew him. I think the whole idea is just plain insulting." "I agree with Jane," Lance spoke for the first time. "How many chances do we get to hang out in a creepy, old mansion anyway?" "Why are you making that sound like some kind of wonderful opportunity?" Skylar said, giggling nervously. "It doesn't sound inviting to me." "You know what?" Lucia put her coffee cup down with a bang. "I think we should do it. Just for the heck of it, just so we have a story to tell our kids. Besides, I could use a couple million bucks." "Me too," I sighed. "I've got some major bills I'd love to get rid of." "You're always so practical, Marie," Jane poked me in the ribs. "You can't possibly have a million dollars worth of bills. PLEASE tell me you'll do something exciting with the rest of it." "We only get the million dollars..." Ben leaned forward and lowered his voice to a mock-creepy whisper, "if we survive the night." He added his best version of a creepy laugh and everyone started laughing. "So we're agreed? We're going to do it?" Jane looked all around the table hopefully. The expressions on everyone's faces ranged from skeptical to mischievous. "I'm in," Carla finally said. Skylar, Jane, Ben, Lance and Dee followed suit. "We're all in," Jane announced. "Go team!" Ben said in a silly voice and we all laughed ...************* chapter four (Jane) "I can't take any more of this!" Ben smacked the car radio with his palm, switching off the Supreme Beings of Leisure CD Marie and I had been listening to and singing along with. "Grouch," I snapped at him. "I'm going to fall asleep in a second if we don't put on something livelier. The rain's making me sleepy as it is," Ben complained. "At least you're not driving," I pointed out. "We're almost there," Marie studied a road map. "I wonder if anyone else is there yet." "We should have started earlier," Ben grumbled. Nobody answered him. I glanced in the rearview mirror; Josh and Marie were sitting in the back seat, keeping busy by looking at each other and then looking away and pretending not to look at each other. I caught Marie's eye in the mirror and she flushed to the roots of her hair and hid behind the map. Ben hunched down in the passenger seat next to me and scowled out into the darkness. Thunder crashed overhead and a flash of lightning accompanied us as we made our way to Uncle Marlon's mansion. "Hmm. It's a dark and stormy night," I commented. "It's appropriate weather, considering," Marie said. "It's a dark and stormy night, and here we are going to a dark and gloomy mansion that may or may not be rigged to kill us all." We stopped for a red light and I turned to look at Josh. "Are you sorry you came yet?" I asked him with a big grin. "No," he answered softly and then pulled his baseball cap a little lower over his eyes. "Not yet, anyway," Ben added. "Oh, stop it," I smacked him with an empty CD case I found lying on the floor of the car. A few moments later, I pulled the car onto the front drive of Great Uncle Marlon's estate. There was a car already parked out in front although I noticed the garage doors were open and the garage was empty. As we pulled up a man in a long black raincoat came running out with an umbrella. I rolled down the window to hear what he was saying. "If you'll follow me, madam, I'll escort you to the house and then see to your luggage and car," he shouted over the storm. Ben and I exchanged glances and shrugged, and then we all got out of the car and hurried into the house. As soon as we were inside, the man introduced himself. "I'm Mason, the butler. I was in service for the late Mr. Nicholson for 30 years. Please go into the study; Mr. Pinley is has been waiting for you." We found Mr. Pinley standing by the fireplace, staring into the well-built fire. He greeted us politely and I tried not to shudder. Our first meeting with him, at the reading of Uncle Marlon's will, had provoked a long discussion among all of us about how creepy he was. He bore a striking resemblance to the cult actor Crispin Glover, and showed an unnerving interest in Marie. I watched her trying to hide behind Ben as we all shook hands. Mr. Pinley found her anyway and I noticed he held her hand a bit longer than he did the rest of us. She quickly moved away and scuttled behind Ben again, who was now talking to Josh. Both were oblivious to Marie's discomfort; fortunately, Mr. Pinley spared my having to intervene by saying, "I would wait until you were all assembled, but I'm afraid if I do I won't make it home in this storm." He handed me an envelope and a handful of keys. "Your esteemed Great Uncle's instructions are all in here. I don't need to add anything to what you already know from the reading of the will." "Wait a minute," I stopped him as he headed for the door. "What do we do tomorrow? How do we know if we did what Uncle Marlon had in mind?" Mr. Pinley had just the ghost of a creepy smile on his pale face as he answered, "You'll know what to do. That is - if you make it through the night." "What's that supposed to mean?" Ben snapped. Before Mr. Pinley could answer, the doorbell rang. It made an eerie sound that echoed throughout the house. "I'm afraid I'm unable to give you anymore information," Mr. Pinley told us as soon as the ringing faded. We heard the front door opening and then Skylar and Lance were shown into the study. "Please wait until everyone has arrived until you read the instructions. Good evening." Mr. Pinley gave Marie a parting leer and then, before anyone could say anything else, he had slipped out of the study and vanished out into the storm. "Ick. That guy gives me the creeps," Marie shivered even though the room was warm from the blazing fire. "What was that about?" Skylar asked. "We're supposed to read the instructions Uncle Marlon left as soon as everyone is here. So far, we're waiting on Carla, Lucia, and Dee," I told her. "Carla is bringing Jeff, Lucia is bringing Paul, and they're both driving Dee and Joey over here," Skylar told us. "Everybody brought somebody," I grinned. "Even Marie," Skylar said, noticing Josh. "Actually, Ben brought Josh," I said before Ben could crack a joke at either Josh or Marie's expense. "But it does even out our group perfectly." The doorbell rang again and moments later Carla and her short, cute, brunette boyfriend Jeff entered, followed by Lucia and her as-advertised, tall, blonde and gorgeous boyfriend Paul. After another brief interval, Dee and her boyfriend - Joey, of the multi- colored hair and husky build - arrived and soon we were all seated around the room drying out by the fire. "What do we do now?" Lucia asked. "I guess we can read the instructions," I took out the envelope and opened it. "Okay, guys, here goes." I took a deep breath and began reading out loud: "'Greetings to my nieces and nephew'," I stopped there to acknowledge my husband. "Aww, how nice! He included you, Ben." Ben made a face in response and I continued reading. "'Thank you for honoring my final wish in being here tonight. Although I didn't get to see much of you as you grew up, family has always been important to me. I only wish I had been in better health and been able to spend more time with you. But now that I'm gone, I'd like you to know a little more about the old uncle who wants you to have everything he's got to leave behind - all his earthly goods, and then some. "'Tonight, you'll be spending a night in my house. But none of you will leave the same way you were. And some of you may never leave at all.'" I stopped there as Dee gasped. "Ew. I'm getting all creeped out now," she said nervously. "Go on," Lucia urged. "Each of you has an assigned room. There are extra rooms for any guests you have chosen to bring. Please be ready for the dinner bell - and don't forget to dress for dinner! You'll find appropriate clothing in each of your rooms. You'll also find more instructions once you've assembled for dinner." I stopped. "What else does it say?" Carla asked. I held up the sheet of paper. "Nothing. That's it. I guess we all have to go dress for dinner now." "What does 'appropriate clothing' mean?" Josh asked Ben. "We'll find out once we get to our rooms," Ben answered. Just then there was a knock on the door and Mason entered. "Please pardon the intrusion, but my instructions were to show you to your rooms as soon as you were all assembled - unless you require a few more minutes?" "I think we'd like to get to our rooms and get this thing going," Ben spoke for all of us. "Very well, sir. Please follow me." We all followed Mason out of the study and into the huge hall. We went up the staircase to the second floor, and down another brightly lit hall lined with doors on either side. "These are the guest bedrooms," Mason announced. "I have a list here as to which rooms are which. Mr. and Mrs. Affleck, this first room is yours," Mason said, gesturing to the first door right off the hall. "The next two are for Misses Sklyar and Dee Macy. The two rooms across from that are for Misses Lucia Velez and Marie Jordan." He went on until only Josh, Paul, Jeff and Lance were left. "There are two bedrooms left that your guests can share, if that meets with your approval." "I guess we can manage that for a night," Paul spoke up. He turned and winked at Lucia and she smiled back at him. "Anybody want to bunk with me?" Jeff shrugged. "I don't mind." "That leaves us," Lance said to Josh. "I guess that's cool. We met at the party the other night." Josh nodded and we all headed into our individual rooms. "I will ring the dinner bell shortly," Mason said as he headed back towards the stairs. "If you find yourselves in need of anything, please ring the bellpull beside your beds." He glided downstairs and disappeared. We all looked at each other blankly and then everyone headed into their rooms. I wasn't sure what to expect - but I had to admit, I was certainly glad I had Ben with me ...***************** chapter five (Marie) I was pleasantly surprised to find that my room was very attractive. The bathroom was fully functional, and the room was clean and comfortable, if a bit too ornate for my taste. The old- fashioned, four-poster bed had a huge, blue, brocade canopy and the wallpaper was a bit too dark in color to suit me, but I figured it didn't matter. After all, it wasn't likely we'd be spending very much time in our rooms. I did find a surprise in the closet - Uncle Marlon's idea of "appropriate clothing" for dinner. I found a perfect little black dinner dress in my size, with shoes to match. As I held it up to the mirror to see how it would look, Josh's face kept coming to mind, but I made a firm resolution to push him out of my thoughts for the time being. After all, none of us had any idea where this evening was going to lead. I'd worry about trying to impress him some other time. Of course, I still hadn't told Jane that he was the guy I'd noticed at Skylar's engagement party - and I'd recognized him the moment I saw him in the back seat of Jane's car. I refocused my attention on the present. I had to wonder what kind of an eccentric Great Uncle Marlon must have been to go to all this trouble, and I was sorry that I hadn't gotten to know him while he was living. Why hadn't any of our parents or other relatives mentioned him? Was it because he was reclusive, or ill, or was there more to it - was it possible that Ben was right, and Great Uncle Marlon wasn't playing with a full deck? I washed and changed and then fixed my hair. After adding a little light makeup, I was done. The dinner bell had yet to ring, so I decided I'd go see how everyone else was doing. No one else was in the hallway as I went to the door of Ben and Jane's room and knocked lightly. Ben answered the door a moment later. "Wow," he said, stepping back to let me in. "Wow yourself," I told him. "Nice suit!" Ben was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and tie. He looked very handsome and pleased with himself. "Don't encourage him," Jane called from the bathroom. "He's been preening in front of the mirror since he put that thing on. He thinks it makes him look grown-up." She came out of the bathroom and I gasped. "Oh, Jane, you look amazing." "So do you," she returned the compliment, but it was too late - suddenly I felt boring and plain next to her. She was wearing a strapless, pale green dress that showed up her dark auburn hair and perfect skin. She rarely put on makeup, and the only jewelry she wore was a simple diamond pendant Ben had given her the year before as a wedding present. "Damn it, you look so stunning - I hate you," I told her with a laugh. "That's my wife," Ben said proudly. "Come on, baby, do a turn for us." "Later. Let's go see how everyone else looks," Jane told him. "I want to see what clothes they found in their rooms." "Can you believe it - they're all a perfect fit!" I exclaimed as I admired the three of us in the mirror. We took a last look at ourselves and went into the hall just as the others were coming out of their rooms. The first person I saw was Josh. I tried not to be obvious about it, but Jane notices everything and out of the corner of my eye I saw her watching me. Each of the guys wore black suits, white shirts and white ties. I couldn't help noticing that Paul's was very fitted, showing the hint of muscle everywhere. All of my cousins looked beautiful; Sklyar wore a one-shoulder dress in lavendar, Carla wore an off-the-shoulder number in pink, Lucia, like Jane, wore a strapless dress, except in a vivid shade of red, and Dee was in pale blue satin. We were all admiring each other out when a gong summoned us downstairs, where Mason was waiting for us in the lobby. He led the way into the dining room. When we reached the dining room, the first thing I noticed was that it looked vaguely familiar. We all wandered around the huge dining table, looking for our names beside our places. I found my name between Lucia's and an unmarked space, which I figured was meant for one of the four guests we'd brought along. Jane immediately began shoving everyone to their places. I was not surprised when she managed to manuever Josh next to me. As soon as we were seated, Mason announced, "Dinner will be served momentarily." He left the room as thunder once again crashed ominously overhead. "That thunder is remarkably well timed," Carla commented. "You know, that reminds me of something, but I can't put my finger on it," Jeff said thoughtfully. "This just seems very familiar somehow ..." ****************** chapter six (Marie) There was a moment of silence as we all waited for Mason to reappear. Suddenly, the dining room doors flew open with a crash, startling Skylar so much that she shrieked and somehow sent a spoon flying across the table and into Ben's face. "Did you see that?" Ben demanded, turning to Jane. "Did you see how she just assaulted me? And after we had her in our home, too." Everybody laughed nervously. Skylar giggled, the color coming back into her face as Lance hugged her and she calmed down. "I'm so sorry, Ben. That noise just scared me to death." "Take the fork away from her," Lucia told Paul, who was on the other side of Skylar. Mason began serving salads and we all tried to relax. "When do we get those other instructions?" Lucia asked him. "After dinner, madam," Mason answered politely. He finished serving the salads and left the room again. Ben gave his salad a poke with his fork and asked, "Who wants to take the first bite?" "What do you mean?" Josh looked up. "Well, you never know. This could turn out to be an Agatha Christie novel, and one of us will get poisoned in the first chapter," Ben said cheerfully as Josh dropped his fork and Carla took Jeff's away from him. "That's it. Nobody eat anything," Skylar announced. "Let's not get paranoid," Lucia groaned. "Great Uncle Marlon might have been a real eccentric, but somehow I doubt he planned to poison us." "I agree," I said. "That's just too unimaginative for someone who's obviously gone to a great deal of trouble to make this evening ... memorable." "The voice of reason has spoken," Jane picked up her fork. "Now the woman of action will eat." She took a big bite of salad and chewed it thoughtfully. I didn't even realize I was holding my breath until I had to gasp for air. We all watched her as she finished chewing and swallowed. "Tastes okay to me," she announced. "I'm disappointed in you. That would have been the ideal time for the woman of action to fake her death, scare the crap out of everyone, and pop back up again with a grin," Ben told her. "Too cliched," Jane responded after swallowing another bite. Dinner proceeded uneventfully, giving me plenty of time to study the room. When we were halfway through the main course it suddenly dawned on me as to why the dining room felt so familiar. "Is anyone else getting a feeling of deja vu from being in this room?" I asked aloud. "Now that you mention it, it does seem like I've been here before," Dee said thoughtfully. "Maybe when we were kids we visited this house," Lucia suggested. "That's not it. I have the distinct feeling I've seen this room somewhere before," Dee insisted. "We have seen it before. Everyone here has seen the movie 'Clue' right?" I asked. "Well, this is the exact same dining room." "I'll be damned. It is the same room!" Ben exclaimed after looking around. "Why do you think your Uncle Marlon did that? It wasn't that good a movie." "Hey, I love that movie," I said in a tone of mock-reproach. "But isn't that weird?" "Very weird," Ben agreed. "Hey, one of us should ask Mason what he does around here," Dee said. "Why?" Joey asked. "Well there's that funny scene in 'Clue' where one of the characters asks what the butler does, and the butler answers, 'I'm a butler, sir. I butle.' I just want to see what Mason says," Dee said, giggling. "If he says that, I'm leaving," Ben tossed his crumpled napkin onto his empty plate. There was a crash of thunder and a flash of lightning. Everyone jumped and then laughed as Ben dove under the table. "Is the coast clear or is Sky going to throw something else at me?" he asked Jane from under the table. "Come out from there, stupid. I don't want the butler to see you under the table in that suit." Jane smacked him lightly in the head. "What does that have to do with ANYTHING?" Ben demanded indignantly as he came out from under the table. "I assume, as part of his butling, that Mason had to press that suit. I don't want him to see his hard work going to waste." Ben would have argued further, but Mason chose that moment to reappear and begin clearing the dinner plates away...************* chapter seven (marie) "Can we help you with that?" Dee asked shyly. "No, thank you, madam." Mason continued his work. "Do you do everything around here, Mason?" Lucia asked him, catching Ben's eye. "I mean, it seems like a lot for one man to run this entire house." "Yes, madam, it is a great deal of work. But I am not the only member of the staff; there is a gardener and several maids who were always on the premises during Mr. Nicholson's lifetime. However, his instructions to us - those that were left after his passing, that is - were that they not be present tonight." "So you're saying you're the only other person here besides us?" Carla asked. "That is correct, madam, but allow me to reassure you that I can provide you with anything you might need for the evening." Mason finished clearing the table and paused a moment. "Will there be anything else, or shall I serve dessert now?" "Dessert sounds fine," Lucia quickly answered for all of us. Mason exited again - just as the lights suddenly went out. Fortunately, there were candles lit around the room, so we weren't in total darkness. Ben got up and checked the light switch. "It's probably a blown fuse," he announced. "I'll go see if Mason can show me where the box is." Before he could take another step, the lights came back on and Mason returned. "I do apologize," he said as he began serving dessert. "This is a very old house and every now and then the power does go out, especially in a storm as powerful as this one. Usually it will come on again by itself if given a little time." We ate dessert in silence. After we'd all had coffee, Mason led the way back to the study, where he handed Jane another envelope. "I believe everything you need is here, madam," he told her. "If you need anything else, please ring for me." He left, closing the heavy oak doors behind him...***************** chapter eight (Marie) Jane ripped open the envelope, glanced at its contents, and then said, "Okay, everybody, here we go." She looked around to make sure she had everyone's attention, and then she started to read aloud. "I hope you all enjoyed dinner, and are now ready to play my little game. But first, as in any game, we need teams. Girls, you are all to pick the partner of your choice. If you have brought guests, you may partner with them. No arguing, please." Jane looked up at us. "I guess our choice of partners should be the people we brought." Everyone agreed - except for me and Josh. "I didn't bring anyone," we both said at the same time. "Well, there you go," Jane favored us with an ear-to-ear grin. "You two will make great partners." "Uh, fine with me," I muttered. I was very much aware that if my face were anywhere near as red as it felt, I probably resembled a tomato with a human body. "Fine with me, too," I heard Josh say. I had no idea if he was blushing because I couldn't bring myself to look. "Good, then I can go on." She studied the paper again. "Where was I ... oh, right. 'No arguing, please. If everyone now has a partner, then we can continue. Each team will receive a map plus one key. Each key opens several, but not all of, the doors in this house. You will find during the night that there are many more doors than you were aware of at first. Be careful which ones you choose to enter and exit! "'Like any game, this game must have a purpose. The purpose here is to twofold - first, find out who did the dastardly deed. Second, find the treasure.'" "Treasure?" Lucia interrupted. "What, was Uncle Marlon a pirate? Did he bury gold in the basement or something? And what does that mean, 'find out who did the dastardly deed?'" "What's dastardly?" I heard Joey ask Dee. "It doesn't say. Would you mind not interrupting, please!" Jane glowered at Lucia and Joey. "EXCUUUUSE me," Lucia stuck her tongue out at Jane while Joey ignored the reprimand. Jane paused to scowl at them once more for good measure and then continued, "SO - anyway, we have to find the treasure. Next it says, 'You may be wondering what kind of treasure. All I'm going to say is, don't look for the obvious. A treasure to me may not be a treasure to you. "'Finally, there are no rules to this game. You can split up as teams, or you can work together. But you'll get a lot more ground covered if you split up. Now, go back to your rooms until midnight. Rest, talk, have a cocktail - whatever makes you happy. Guests should join their partners - my heirs - in THEIR rooms, not return to their own. All partners should be together at the start of the game. "'Take care and best wishes, my nieces and nephew. I hope you're all winners by the time morning comes. Now go upstairs and wait. You won't be waiting long.'" Jane finished reading and looked up at us. "That's all it says. Here," she said, going around the room and handing each of the heirs a small gold key and what appeared to be a copies of a map. "We have to go up to our rooms and wait until midnight?" Dee said with disbelief. "That's an hour from now. How do we know what to do then?" "I'm assuming there's going to be some kind of unavoidable signal," Carla mused aloud. "Something's going to happen that we can't miss." "Well, the game doesn't start until we've all gone to our rooms - I mean, our partner's rooms," Paul stood up and smiled at Lucia. "Let's not waste time," Lucia grabbed his hand and they led the way out of the study. Mason was nowhere in sight as we headed back up the stairs. Everyone took their partners to their respective rooms. I led the way to my room, Josh trailing in my wake. When we got to the door, we stood there for a moment. I shrugged shyly and said, "Well, I guess we might as well hang out for a while." "Nowhere else to go," Josh agreed. We stood there a few moments longer, looking at each other and then looking away again, until I realized that one of us had to do something or we'd still be standing there at midnight. "This is silly. We can always play cards or something to keep us busy." I opened the door and we went inside. I took out the deck of cards I always carried with me on trips in case I got bored and after a while we both started to relax ...******************* chapter nine (Marie) Several rounds of poker later, I owed Josh my apartment, stereo, television and firstborn child. We were playing a final "double-or-nothing" hand, on which I had bet a dog I didn't have, when I looked at my watch and realized we only had five minutes until the clock struck twelve. "I hate to break this up, but maybe we'd better get ready for whatever it is that's going to happen at midnight," I announced. "You're only saying that because I'm winning," he answered, his eyes still on the cards. "I want the dog." "I don't have a dog," I started giggling. "Well when you get one I'm taking it," he said, looking up with a mischievous grin. "You're going to come to my apartment and take my poor imaginary ... uh, Spot?" "Excuse me, but I believe it's MY apartment and I'm not naming him Spot." "I'm not sure I like you. You're a bit cold-blooded for me," I said, trying to keep a straight face. "Well, I'm not a total tyrant. You can sleep in the living room. The dog and I will take the bedroom," Josh tried unsuccessfully to suppress a snicker. "You're all heart," I made a face at him. "I hate this game," I tried not to smile as I spoke. I was holding a royal flush, and I knew I had him. "It's the moment of truth," Josh announced. "I call. What have you got?" I took a deep breath and grinned. "I've got -" At that moment the lights went out again. Before either of us could react, we heard a long, horrible, drawn-out scream. Impulsively I grabbed Josh's arm, he grabbed my hand, and the two of us sat there, frozen. After what seemed like forever, we heard voices and doors opening. Quickly we pulled ourselves together and rushed out into the hallway ...*************** chapter ten (Jane) After reading our second set of instructions, Ben and I ambled up to our room and changed back into our jeans. There'd been nothing stated in Great Uncle Marlon's will about my having to run around in heels all evening. Exhausted, we stretched out on the bed, and the last thing I remembered thinking about was how Josh and Marie would make a really cute couple. The next thing I knew, I was waking up to the sound of a horrible scream. Shocked, I sat straight up, reaching for Ben at the same time. Unfortunately, right at that moment he sat up too. I felt my fist connect with something that felt suspiciously soft and then Ben let out a yelp of pain and fury. "Honey? What did I do? Are you okay?" I asked, feeling around in the dark. "Find the light switch!" "Find the light switch?" There was outrage in Ben's voice as he shrieked, "Find the light switch? You just punched me in the nose! YOU find the light switch!" "It was an accident, you big baby," I told him as I got off the bed and started feeling my way around. I heard Ben moving around on the opposite side of the room. There was a crash and I heard him swear. I managed to find the light switch on the wall, but when I flipped it on, nothing happened. "Ben, are you all right?" I called anxiously. There was an answering snarl and I heard the sound of things falling. "My foot is caught," Ben hissed. "I think it's the lamp cord from the nightstand." "Sheesh. What is it with you and nightstands?" "Just get the lights on, will you?" "I can't. They won't come on." "What's going on outside?" "I have no idea. I'll go look. Try not to strangle yourself with the cord, okay? I'll be right back." I opened the door and collided with Lucia, Paul, Skylar and Lance, who were all in the hallway, which was now lighted with candles mounted on the walls, going all the way down to the top of the huge staircase. "We heard a scream!" Lucia cried. "Yes, I'm aware of that," I said dryly. "It sounded like it came from downstairs," Paul added. Everyone else joined us a moment later. We all stopped and listened, but the only sounds were thumps and bumps coming from my room. The bumps came closer and closer until finally Ben joined us, somehow disentangling his ankle from the lamp cord as he did. He stood in the doorway for a moment looking at us. "I missed something important, didn't I?" he finally said. "Not yet," Skylar said. "We all heard a woman scream, and it wasn't up here, and it wasn't one of us ..."*************** chapter eleven (DEE) "Well, who was it then?" Jane asked. "Didn't Mason say there was no one else in the house?" Joey asked. "That's right," Jeff looked around the hallway. "We're all here, and Mason said he was the only servant who was allowed to stay - so who was that screaming?" "And where IS Mason?" Skylar wondered aloud. "We'd better check things out downstairs," Paul said decisively. "In the dark?" Josh was skeptical. "We've got candlelight," Jane pointed out. "See if you guys can grab a couple of those candles off the wall." Josh went over and easily removed one of the candles along with its holder, and the other guys followed suit. "Let's go," Paul led the way down the stairs, with the rest of us close behind him. We made our way to the front hall but found nothing. "No sign of Mason anywhere," Ben commented. "Should we split up and look for him?" Skylar asked nervously. "I think for the moment we should all stick together," Paul said and several of us seconded that quickly. We reached the dining room doors and went inside, but a candlelight search revealed nothing. My boyfriend Joey went ahead of the rest of us into the kitchen. I stayed close behind him as he felt around the wall, looking for the light switch. "Found it," he muttered and I heard him flip it but nothing happened. "It's not working?" I asked. I knew the question was a bit idiotic but somehow I felt better about wandering around in the dark as long as I could hear his voice, as well as the voices of my cousins. "Nah, the switch didn't do a thing," Joey answered absently. "Hey Ben, you think we blew a fuse?" he called into the dining room. "I doubt it. Mason said the electricity went out routinely during storms - unless of course this is all part of the 'game'," Ben called back. He came into the kitchen behind us and everyone else followed. Suddenly Skylar let out a shriek and grabbed Marie, who was standing next to her. "What's that at the table?" she cried, gripping Marie's arm. "I don't know," Marie yelped, trying to disentangle herself. "Lance, help! She's cutting off my circulation!" Lance stepped in and gently removed Skylar, who clutched his arm instead. With his other hand, he held his candle up in front of him so that we could get a slightly better look at the dark shape slumped at the table. "Mason?" I heard my voice quivering. "Is that you?" "If it is, this isn't funny," Joey said irritably. "Maybe he's hurt or passed out or something," Skylar suggested, sounding calmer. She took a deep breath and went over to the form sitting at the kitchen table. "Mason?" We all held our breath as she touched his shoulder. Suddenly the lights came back on in a blaze. Skylar jumped back but didn't scream as the body on the chair fell to the floor, a knife in its heart.***************** chapter twelve (Carla) There was dead silence as we all stared at the body for what seemed like the longest moment in history. Skylar finally spoke. "I think I'm going to be sick," she announced. Lance went over and pulled her back around the table to where we were all standing rooted to the floor. "What do we do?" Dee whispered. "I personally am planning to pass out as soon as I can move," I announced. I could feel my hands shaking. I noticed I wasn't the only one. Jeff looked like he might fall over, and even Paul was a few shades paler. We stood there, undecided as to what to do next. "That's not Mason," Jane suddenly pointed out. "That's right," Jeff said softly. "It's a woman's body - she's wearing a dress." "Unless Mason is a crossdresser," Joey commented. "Well, there's only one way to find out." Ben finally strode over to the body and turned it over as the rest of us shrieked simultaenously. "Don't!" "Eeew!" "I can't look!" Marie and Josh both had their hands over their eyes. "Josh, what do you see?" Marie cried. "Nothing! You look!" he yelled back. "Oh come on, you guys," Jane groaned and joined Ben where he was kneeling on the floor beside the body. "It's not Mason." "It's not only not Mason, it's not even real," Ben announced and the commotion suddenly stopped. "What?" I gasped. "It's not real," Ben repeated. "I mean, it's not a real body. It's a dummy." "Are you sure?" Marie took her hands away from her eyes and took a tentative step toward the body. "Positive," Ben stood up, hauling the limp form up along with him. Several of us shuddered and then we all moved forward for a closer look. Sure enough, on close examination the "body" proved to be a life-sized dummy made up to look like a woman, complete with makeup, wig and clothing. "There's a note pinned in by the knife," Joey tugged at it gently until it ripped away and then read it aloud. "'Who killed Evi Stomar'?" "That's what it says?" Jeff peered at it over Joey's shoulder. "Here," Joey handed it to him and Jeff and I read it before passing it around. "Who's Evi Stomar?" Ben wondered. "I'm guessing that's part of the mystery," Jane said. "And I'm guessing that this would be the so-called 'dastardly deed' Uncle Marlon mentioned in his instructions." "So we're supposed to find out who killed someone named Evi Stomar?" Jeff tried to clarify the situation. "Yeah - at least, Evi Stomar, as represented by our unfortunate friend here," Jane whacked the dummy in the stomach. "What do you guys think - is it time we split up?" We all looked at each other. "I'm ready," Lance spoke first. "That is, if Sky is too," he added quickly. "Well ... " Skylar had recovered from her initial shock. "Yes, I guess I'm ready." "We left our map in your room," Josh said to Marie. "Oh, darn it. Jeff, we left ours upstairs too," I realized. "I brought ours," Joey pulled a square of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Dee, who unfolded it. "I've got our key," Dee showed it to us. "Who else remembered to bring their floor plan and their key with them?" Ben asked. "We did," Lance and Skylar answered together. "I've got ours right here," Jane held them up and Dee and Joey joined her by the kitchen table. "I've got our map and key," Paul said. "Oh, good thinking, honey," Lucia smiled at him and Paul beamed back at her. Ben rolled his eyes and opened his mouth but Jane poked him in the side and he refrained from commenting with obvious effort. I remembered what he and Jane had been like during their dating days and chuckled quietly. Paul and Lucia had nothing on them. "So that leaves Jeff, Carla, Marie and Josh," Ben was saying. "Well, why don't you guys go back to your rooms and get your stuff, and your teams search the upstairs rooms, while the rest of us take the downstairs?" We all agreed to Ben's plan. Joey and Dee took the kitchen, Jane and Ben decided to head for the study, and Skylar and Lance, after briefly studying the floor plan, chose to start with the greenhouse, which none of us had seen as yet. In the meantime, Jeff, Marie, Josh and I headed back upstairs to our rooms. The game had finally begun ...************* 


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